The biggest mistake I see new authors making (and the one I made, too) is not having a sufficient following, platform, or community before they publish. Let’s get you started on a better footing! 

Every author, new or seasoned, wants their book to take off and sell millions as fast as possible. We have world-changing work to do! But understanding a few key ingredients will help you understand how long it will take until that book takes off. 

“I wonder if anyone besides my mom is going to read this,” I said to my friend Shelly one day when I was planning on self-publishing my first book baby. “I wonder if hiring a book writing coach would be a good idea.” 

“You’re amazing, Laura. You’re going to change the world. Keep up the good work!” Shelly has always been by my side, cheerleading my journey like no other. I’m so grateful she believed in me and saw in me what I didn’t see many days. 

Marketing for new authors can be stressful. We don’t know what we don’t know in the beginning unless we have awesome coaches, editors, and publishers on our team. 

I remember promoting my first book on Facebook—once. And I remember having a book signing party with a few of my favorite people at a friend’s house. It was an exciting time. I expected to sell a lot of books. I don’t know if I sold more than 50. It was disappointing. But it was also the start of seeking guidance, which was a game changer for me.

Book promotion strategies abound out there in the big bad world of the internet. It’s overwhelming. You have to be an informed consumer of all there is to offer in the world of writing and publishing. It’s embarrassing to tell you that I made some huge mistakes initially. Like spelling a word wrong in one of my titles. And leaving out the acknowledgments section in another. The thing is, if I’d been more courageous about hiring the help I needed, I wouldn’t have made those rookie mistakes, and I would’ve sold way more books. 

Here are five tips for rookie authors to make your launch take off beyond your expectations: 

1. Work on building your email following every single day.

If someone had told me about the email list-building thing back when I self-published my first book, I’d be well on my way to more passive royalty income by now. Even my publisher at the time was not coaching me in the right ways. The bottom line strategy is to create a freebie (lead magnet) your ideal reader can’t resist and then share it everywhere and consistently. 

2. Start building and serving your community so they can get to know, love, and trust you.

The email list is key, but so is a place to serve your growing community so they can get to know, love, and trust you enough to purchase when launch day arrives. My example is the Brave Badass Healers, a Community for World Changers group on Facebook. I hold two free monthly events for healer-entrepreneurs to network, get business coaching, learn, and speak. 

3. Build a dedicated launch team.

If I could help you with your book in one way, it would be this: Create a dedicated team of people to help you launch your book. It’s a game-changing (and community-building) strategy that works. We’ve watched our teams help us reach Amazon bestseller status 63 times (and counting). The key is the energy and intention behind your mission and sharing your why (and story) in a way that others want to help you. The Brave Healer revolution is alive and well, and I’m so grateful to all of you who’ve helped us launch our books! 

4. Create a marketing and promotion strategy that lasts well beyond the launch.

There’s so much time, energy, and effort that goes into getting to launch day. It’s natural to pause after a launch and feel a little bit of a crash after the high. But honestly, the fun (and book promotion) has just begun at that point. This is a long game (and legacy work), so you must think beyond launch day if you want to sell books. 

5. Network with like-minded people and create sharing partnerships and collaborations that help you reach more than just your own audience.

Networking has been a game-changer in my business for many reasons beyond book sales. It has led to powerful partnerships and sharing that reaches well beyond my email list and social platforms. When you go into networking with the mindset of connecting people and helping them grow their businesses, the magic comes back to you. I’ve created share partners for my writing and book launching that assist my efforts and are reciprocal abundant energy.

If you’re a new author and have little or no following right now, don’t worry. Everyone started at zero. You can start today with an email list and community-building activities to help your book take off. If you’re a healer entrepreneur, visit the Brave Healer community and see how we do this together.